Amendment to working procedure by this week
KATHMANDU, AUG 09
The Special Economic Zone (Sez) Development Committee is likely to amend the working procedure of the Bhairahawa Sez this week, allowing interested industries to operate on the Sez premises.
The committee is currently compiling inputs from several stakeholders, including the private sector. Once the compilation is over, the amendment will be forwarded to the Ministry of Industry. The amendment needs the ministry’s approval in principle and final nod from the Cabinet.
The amendment will chop off the provision that all the 68 plots must be occupied before the Sez goes into operation.
Only 12 companies have so far responded to the government’s call for setting up industries in the Sez. The applications too were filed after the deadline for the submission of the expression of interest (EoI) was extended.
Spread over 235 hectares, the Sez contains three building blocks. The overall area has been divided into 68 plots each ranging from 1,468sqm to 4,500sqm. The Sez can accommodate 200 factories.
“We have sought feedback from private sector bodies like the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) and Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) before finalising the amendment of the working procedure,” Saroj Vaidya, officiating executive director at the Sez Development Committee, said. “The amendment is most likely within this week.”
The feedback of the private sector will help the committee find out the actual reasons for the reluctance of the private sector to join the Sez.
Although the Bhairahawa Sez, first-of-its-kind in the country, was inaugurated amid huge fanfare in November last year, it has failed to gain momentum due to the private sector’s cold response in the absence of a Sez Act. Even a reduction in income tax, excise duty, VAT and customs duty failed to lure the industrialists.
As there is no Act in place, the Sez is being operated under the Bhairahawa Sez Operation Standard and Procedure 2014. The Sez Act has been passed by the Cabinet and is close to being presented at the Parliament for formal endorsement.
Another issue is high rental charge. An industry has to pay Rs150 per square metre. “We have asked suggestions and feedback from the private sector bodies to know about other issues,” Vaidya said.
Once the working procedure is amended, it will pave the way for companies like the Panchakanya Group, High Himal Products, Prakash Agro Industries, Siddhartha PET Plastic Industry, Tayal Industries, and Kailash Kund Construction, among others, to operate in the Sez.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
